October 20, 1999 This is the first of a series of emails regarding the European tour of "42nd Street". After nearly 24 hours of travelling, involving a train, a bus, 2 vans, 2 subway systems and, of course, 2 airplanes, I finally walked into the hotel room in Hannover Germany, after leaving my parents' apartment just outside of Washington, DC. The cast was divided into 2 main groups, one transferring in Frankfurt (My group) and one changing planes in Paris, with two of the stars and most of the directoral staff all arriving separately. Because of this the producers opted to keep us all at the Airport hotel in Hannover for the first night, rather than having to shuttle six or more times from Hannover to Nienberg. My group arrived shortly before noon on Friday (the second group to arrive) and we were greeted by the producers who literally helped us carry our luggage -- the first of many instances where they went out of their way to make us feel welcomed and in good hands. We stopped for a quick photo for the Hannover Paper in the main terminal with all of us sitting on our luggage before heading off to the hotel. We were all so jetlagged, and in a Holiday Inn where the entire staff spoke english, so it really did not feel like a foreign country. That evening, we had a company meeting where we met the rest of the cast and creative team who had been arriving throughout the day. After a quick excursion back to the airport (which looked like IKEA had decorated the place -- a common look throughout Germany -- for a light dinner and a beer it was off to sleep again. The following day, we boarded the bus for Nienberg where we are rehearsing the show. We are all staying at the Hotel Weserschlößchen in the center of town, right on the Weser River. Directly across a little tributary to the river from the hotel is the theater where we are rehearsing. The hotel and the theater are connected by a two story enclosed bridge over a small waterfall - on the bridge is the hotel restaurant. It is like living in a postcard here. Part of the reason why I was so happy to take this tour was the chance to work with so many of my good friends. 3 of my favorite actors from my "Meet Me In St. Louis" tour are all on the road here with me, all in leading roles, and I have worked with a number of the other actors before ( including one ensemble member with whom I went to High school!) and knew the director from AMDA, the Choreographer from Surflight, and the Music Director (also from the St. Louis tour).I couldn't pass up the opportunity to travel Europe with this many wonderful people. We rehearse here for 3 weeks, and open in this theater on Friday, November 5. Then we're off. sis. Bis Bald (til later) Marcus